A judge in Nova Scotia, Canada, has frozen half of a lottery prize of $1.2 million until a family dispute between the woman who purchased the winning ticket and her nephew is settled.
Barbara Reddick took her 19-year-old nephew Tyrone MacInnis to court after they won the grand prize of a “Chase the Ace” lottery drawing last month. The winnings were split between the two of them.
The 57-year-old woman claimed that she had put her nephew’s name on the ticket for “good luck”. She agreed to split the prize with MacInnis if they landed on a consolation prize. However, the two ended up winning the $1.2 million jackpot, which meant each of them will have $611,319.50.
“He was lucky, but not for half a million dollars,” said Reddick.
Reddick revealed during a photo-op with “Chase the Ace” that she had decided to sue MacInnis over the money he had got in his pocket. She filed a lawsuit in the Nova Scotia Supreme Court shortly after her announcement.
The woman said she was looking to give her nephew $150,000 of the winnings before the 19-year-old claimed half of the prize. The pair haven’t spoken to each other since the drawing on 12th July. Reddick claimed that she had seen MacInnis as her own son before the jackpot and that he had broken her heart.
Justice Patrick Murray froze MacInnis’s portion of winnings on Monday until the case is resolved. The two winners will be attending a settlement conference on 17th September.
